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Sen. Carpenter lauds new life for biomass plant in Stacyville

AUGUSTA — Sen. Mike Carpenter, a Democrat from Houlton who represents central and northern Aroostook County and parts of northern Penobscot County, cheered the purchase of the biomass power plant in Stacyville by the Alabama-based company 42 Railroad Ave LLC.

The company estimates the plant will reopen in June, creating roughly 300 jobs.

“This is incredible news for residents of Penobscot and Aroostook Counties,” said Sen. Carpenter. “Jobs are the number-one issue in northern Maine, and are crucial to making sure our young people have opportunities to support themselves and their families. People in our area are known worldwide for their work ethic, and I look forward to seeing them filling job openings when the plant opens later this year. I called Steven Johnson, the CEO of the company, to personally thank him for his investment in rural Maine.”

The purchase of the 24-megawatt plant, formerly operated by Sherman Development, makes 42 Railroad Ave the owner of one of the largest privately owned power stations in the country, according to the Portland Press Herald.

The company plans to rebuild the plant’s turbine, activate new transmission lines and build a rotary kiln to produce more than 100 daily tons of activated carbon. This has applications including water and air purification, oil spill cleanup, medical treatments and trapping mercury emissions from coal-fired power stations and natural gas wellheads.